Case Number 17982: Small Claims Court

YES: KEYS TO ASCENSION

The Charge

What happened to this song we once knew so well? -- "The
Revealing Science of God"

The Case

What indeed? Here is one of the classic lineups of one of the most revered
and influential prog-rock bands of all time, reunited for the first time in
nearly twenty years, captured in concert performing some of its most beloved
songs. As is usually the case, all of the members are skilled musicians, with
nary a bum note anywhere to be heard, and the crowd is clearly enthusiastic to
witness an event many of them had waited for a long time to see.

So why is Keys to Ascension so disappointing? This was definitely a
landmark appearance; this lineup of Yes, responsible for such prog-rock epics as
Yessongs (1972), Tales From Topographic Oceans (1973), Going
for the One (1977), and Tormato (1978), was the lineup that most '70s
Yes fans are familiar with. Having disbanded in 1979, Yes spent most of the '80s
and '90s with a completely different lineup and a more mainstream rock sound
that had only a tenuous connection with prog. This reunion was a huge event for
Yes fans -- all four shows sold out within minutes on the Internet -- but some
misguided decisions in the performance and recording of the DVD make it not
nearly as interesting as it must have been to see the shows live.

Keys to Ascension was filmed over three performances in March of 1996
at the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, CA. Singer Jon Anderson, guitarist
Steve Howe, keyboardist Rick Wakeman, bassist Chris Squire, and drummer Alan
White perform the following songs:

* "Siberian Khatru"* "Close to the Edge":I:
"The Solid Time of Change"II: "Total Mass Retain"III: "I Get Up I Get Down"IV: "Seasons of a Man"* "I've Seen All Good People":I: "Your Move"II: "I've Seen All Good People"* "Time and a
Word"* "And You and I":I: "Cord of Life"II: "Eclipse"III: "The Preacher the Teacher"IV: "Apocalypse"* "The Revealing Science of God-Dance of
the Dawn"* "Going for the One"* "Turn of the
Century"* "America"* "Onward"*
"Awaken"* "Roundabout"* "Starship
Trooper":I: "Life Seeker"II:
"Disillusion"III: "Würm"

The set list highlights part of the problem. As an event, this reunion was
significant, but as a concert it's not that exciting. The most recent song here
-- "Onward" -- dates all the way back to 1978. Though the band does
perform some lesser-known rarities like "The Revealing Science of God"
and "Turn of the Century," the fact that much of the set list consists
of old chestnuts that they've performed countless times means that this is
mostly a rote performance. Howe and Wakeman, in particular, look bored at times
and their solos are sometimes little more than dull recitations of their
recorded work. To highlight just what a mistake it was for Yes to focus so
zealously on old material, consider that the most exciting performances on the
Yes: the New Director's Cut DVD that was performed by the exact same
lineup nearly a decade later are the songs written and recorded in 2001. Had Yes
used these shows to break in some new material, maybe these shows would have
been more energetic. As they are, however, once you accept that this is a
significant reunion, the performance itself doesn't hold much interest.

The lackluster performance isn't the only problem. Director/producer Steve
Mitchell attempts something elaborate in presenting the show visually: during
the songs, he superimposes pseudo-psychedelic images over the musicians,
including bubbling water, people climbing rocks, pretty flowers, and old Yes
album covers. It's no surprise that this is all deeply distracting, but what's
even worse is that most of these images, as corny as they are, sometimes
completely block out the band members themselves. What's the point of finally
reuniting this lineup if all we're going to see are endless shots of bad video
effects circa 1972? Even the occasional flashes of brilliance (mainly on the
lesser-known songs) are hard to enjoy with all the cheesy graphics.

Technically, the disc is mixed. Keys to Ascension was originally
issued on DVD in 2001, and this edition looks and sounds identical to that one.
The full-screen transfer isn't great, looking soft and hazy and somewhat
washed-out. The Dolby 5.1 surround mix, on the other hand, is actually pretty
good. It's not too loud, but the instruments are crisp and clear and it makes
good use of the surrounds. This new edition does come with new extras, but
they're not as useful as they seem initially. The featurette "The Key to
Ascension" (8:34) is edited out of the previously issued Yes:
Classic Artists DVD, which was an extended video biography of the band. If
you have that DVD, you've already seen this segment; if you don't. you'll be
mighty confused by the lack of identifying subtitles on any of the interviewees.
There's also an audio commentary by Squire which is hit-and-miss. He does have
some things to say about the show itself, but mostly he recites basic facts
about Yes history that most fans will already know. What's more, he only
comments on about half the concert, since he stops talking after a couple of
minutes of each song. The last extra is a live concert from Philadelphia 1979
(51:23) that's redundant. This concert has already been released on DVD as
Yes: Live in Philadelphia 1979, complete with remastered video, a 5.1
surround mix, and an audio essay by Yes biographer Chris Welch. Here, it only
comes with a stereo mix and looks compressed and fuzzy. This is actually a good
performance that, in some ways, surpasses the main concert itself. Fans who want
to see it, however, should simply spring for that DVD itself.

Ultimately, Keys to Ascension is really only for fans who want a
souvenir of the reunion shows. The actual performances are not that exciting and
the visual presentation is downright silly. Newcomers who want to see how
stellar this lineup of Yes could be live should track down the Yessongs
DVD, which, while suffering from technical flaws of its own, remains one of Yes'
definitive recordings. If you already own the previous issue of Keys to
Ascension, you'd do better to preview it to see if the Chris Squire
commentary, the only new extra of value, is worth a new investment.